ap lit units 5 & 6 vocab

homily

(n) a sermon stressing moral principles; a tedious moralizing lecture or discourse

aficionado

(n) an enthusiastic and usually expert follower or fan

foray

(n) a quick raid, especially for plunder; a venture into some field or endeavor; (v) to make such a raid

insouciant

(adj) blithely indifferent or unconcerned, carefree; happy-go-lucky

browbeat

(v) to intimidate by a stern or overbearing manner; to bully

emolument

(n) profit derived from an office position or from employment; a fee or salary

immure

(v) to enclose or confine within walls; to imprison; to seclude or isolate

commensurate

(adj) equal in size, extent, duration, or importance; proportionate; measurable by the same standards

diaphanous

(adj) very sheer and light; almost completely transparent

genre

(n) a type, class, or variety, especially a distinctive category of literary composition; a style of painting in which everyday scenes are realistically depicted

sacrosanct

(adj) very sacred or holy; inviolable; set apart or immune from questioning or attack

vicissitudes

(n) a change, variation, or alteration; (pl) successive or changing phases or conditions

matrix

(n) a mold; the surrounding situation or environment

systemic

(adj) of or pertaining to the entire body; relating to a system or systems

obsequies

(n) funeral rites or ceremonies

tendentious

(adj) intended to promote a particular point of view, doctrine, or cause; biased or partisan

persona

(n) a character in a novel or play; the outward character or role that a person assumes

panache

(n) a confident and stylish manner, dash; a strikingly elaborate or colorful display

prurient

(adj) having lustful desires or interests; tending to arouse sexual desires

philippic

(n) a bitter verbal attack

internecine

(adj) mutually destructive; characterized by great slaughter and bloodshed

abortive

(adj) failing to accomplish an intended aim or purpose; only partially or imperfectly developed

in medias res

(adv) in or into the middle of a plot; into the middle of things

maladroit

(adj) lacking skill or dexterity; lacking tact, perception, or judgment

maudlin

(adj) excessively or effusively sentimental

bruit

(v) to spread news, reports, or unsubstantiated rumors

ensconce

(v) to settle comfortably and firmly in position; to put or hide in a safe place

iconoclastic

(adj) attacking or seeking to overthrow popular or traditional beliefs, ideas, or institutions

contumelious

(adj) insolent or rude in speech or behavior; insultingly abusive; humiliating

dictum

(n) a short saying; an authoritiative statement

waggish

(adj) fond of making jokes; characteristic of a joker; playfully humorous or droll

prescience

(n) knowledge of events or actions before they happen; foresight

saturnalian

(adj) characterized by riotous or unrestrained revelry or licentiousness

portentous

(adj) foreshadowing an event to come; causing wonder or awe; self-consciously weighty, pompous

salubrious

(adj) conducive to health or well-being; wholesome

touchstone

(n) a means of testing worth or genuineness

modulate

(v) to change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust

quid pro quo

(n) something given in exchange or return for something else

vitiate

(v) to weaken, debase, or corrupt; to impair the quality or value of

traumatic

(adj) so shocking to the emotions as to cause lasting and substantial psychological damage